Ericsson is planning a large private network for the Lower Colorado River Authority
60-plus cell sites are planned by next year
Ericsson is in a push to build private networks for utilities across the U.S.
A Texas utility that manages water and electricity for more than 30 retail utilities and 40 national parks is working with Ericsson to build a private network that could reach as many as 210 towers by the end of 2028.
Ericsson is working with the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) to start to deploy a 4G LTE private network that can be easily updated to 5G over time in 60-plus cell sites across parts of 68 Texas counties.
This follows Ericsson’s already-stated push to support electric co-operatives with 4G and 5G private networks.
Sail on down the river
“The plan is to have up to 60-plus cell sites operational by 2026, and the total number of sites could reach as many as 210, including 114 LCRA-owned towers, by the end of 2028,” SNS Telecom & IT 5G research director Asad Khan told Fierce Network in an email. “The reason for the deployment of dual-mode infrastructure is to minimize any potential Capex overheads in the future when the network transitions from LTE to 5G....The deal follows a 13-site private LTE pilot network deployment for LCRA's utility operations in Austin, San Marcos, Brookesmith, Paint Rock, and Wharton, Texas,” he added.
The deal will provide LCRA with “additional capacity, control and security capabilities,” noted Stephen Kellicker, LCRA executive vice president of Enterprise Resources in a release.
Similar to the other electric co-op and utility deals that Ericsson is striking, much of this work is utilizing the 900 MHz spectrum, especially since the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authorized these radio frequencies for critical infrastructure. AvidThink principal analyst Roy Chua has previously noted the coverage this frequency brings,
“Like more than a dozen other private cellular networks built using 900 MHz broadband spectrum (897.5-900.5 MHz paired with 936.5-939.5 MHz) in the United States, LCRA's network will initially use LTE Band 8 as the operating band before a future transition to Band 106/n106, which supports both LTE and 5G NR and has been specifically included in 3GPP Release 18 to address the shortcomings of using Band 8 for utility networks,” SNS’s Khan noted. “These limitations include device availability; dual connectivity and carrier aggregation support (especially with CBRS or other commercial bands); and limited suppression of emissions from Band 5 and Band 26,” he concluded.